Disease etiology in horses refers to the study of the causes and development of diseases within equine populations. It encompasses various factors, including genetic predisposition, environmental influences, infectious agents, and nutritional imbalances, that contribute to the onset and progression of diseases in horses. Understanding disease etiology is essential for identifying risk factors and implementing preventative measures in equine health management. This topic includes research on pathogen-host interactions, the impact of management practices on disease incidence, and the role of genetic and environmental factors in disease susceptibility. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the mechanisms, contributing factors, and implications of disease etiology in horses.
Valberg SJ, Carlson GP, Cardinet GH, Birks EK, Jones JH, Chomyn A, DiMauro S.Although exertional myopathies are commonly recognized in horses, specific etiologies have not been identified. This is the first report in the horse of a deficiency of Complex I respiratory chain enzyme associated with profound exercise intolerance. Physical examination, routine blood tests, endoscopy, and ultrasonograms of the heart and iliac arteries were unremarkable. With slow, incremental exercise (speeds 1.5-7 m/s), the Arabian mare showed a marked lactic acidosis, increased mixed venous PVO2, and little change in oxygen consumption. Muscle biopsies contained large accumulations of mito...
Reid SW, Gettinby G, Fowler JN, Ikin P.An epidemiological study of equine sarcoid in a population of 4126 donkeys showed that the peak incidence of the disease was 15.2 cases per 100 animal-years and occurred in animals in their fourth year of life. The crude incidence of the disease was 0.6 cases per 100 animal-years. The disease occurred most frequently in younger, male animals during their first five years in the population. The lesions were observed most commonly in the paragenital region. Pre-entry quarantine procedures did not appear to play a significant role in the spread of the disease but there was an indication that clos...
Wang SZ, Rushlow KE, Issel CJ, Cook RF, Cook SJ, Raabe ML, Chong YH, Costa L, Montelaro RC.The potential for antibody-dependent enhancement of replication of macrophage/monocyte tropic viruses has posed a significant problem in the development of vaccines for several animal and human viruses and has raised significant concern in the design of potential AIDS vaccines. Using the previously described equine infectious anemia virus/Shetland pony system as a model for HIV-1 vaccine development, we have evaluated the efficacy of a recombinant subunit vaccine containing a baculovirus-expressed envelope surface glycoprotein (gp90) of EIAV. The results of these trials demonstrate not only th...
Cothran EG, Long YG.A new D blood group phenogroup consisting of the specificities adeo was observed in a stallion family of Caspian ponies from Iran. An additional six undescribed genetic variants were seen in a total of 82 Iranian horses. This result suggests extensive new genetic variation may be present in domestic horses from geographic regions that have not yet received scientific attention.
Sugar O.Reports of pathologic investigations as to the cause of intermittent claudication in horses were made in France in October, 1831, by veterinarian Jean-François Bouley. Obstructive clots in the femoral arteries were found to be responsible for the muscular changes causing limping. Bouley's work in the horse was used by Charcot in 1858 to understand the mechanism of claudication in the case of a soldier with gunshot wound in whom a traumatic aneurysm, clotting, and ischemia of the legs developed. This was not, however, the first medically reported case of human claudication from vascular occlus...
Hoberg EP, Miller S, Brown MA.We report the first documented case of autochthonous echinococcosis in a horse of North American origin. Three fully mature and viable unilocular hydatid cysts of Echinococcus granulosus (Batsch, 1786) were an incidental finding at necropsy in the liver of a 14-yr-old gelding thoroughbred that had been foaled in Virginia and raised in Maryland. Protoscolices were armed with 2 rows of 28-37 rostellar hooks; small hooks measured 23-30 microns; large hooks measured 26-33 microns. Morphologically, these were compatible with rostellar armature considered typical for the equine strain of E. granulos...
Laws EG, Freeman DE.Diamine oxidase (DAO), an enzyme of small intestinal origin, is released from mucosal storage sites by IV administration of heparin, to yield the plasma postheparin DAO (PHD) curve. The PHD curve is diminished when mucosal surface area is lost, and baseline (without heparin) plasma DAO activity increases when mucosal storage sites are damaged. Plasma DAO activity was measured after 2 doses of heparin were administered IV in healthy, conscious horses. In anesthetized horses, the PHD curve was studied: during sham small intestinal surgery, and during venous strangulation obstruction (VSO) of the...
Singh G.The equine influenza virus, Ludhiana/5/87, isolated from the clinical material during the epidemic of equine influenza in India in 1987 was inhibited in haemagglutination-inhibition test by the antiserum against the prototype A/eq/Prague/1/56 (H7N7) virus and by post-epidemic horse sera. In haemagglutinin and neuraminidase analysis, the A/eq/Ludhiana/5/87 isolate appeared similar to the prototype A/eq/Prague/1/56 virus and was characterized as the H7N7 subtype.
Shams Eldin HE, Kirchhoff H.Tracheal swabs were taken from 25 horses with respiratory diseases and investigated for mycoplasmas using three different media. Mycoplasmas could be isolated from 5 horses. The isolates were characterized by serological and biochemical methods. Four isolates could be identified as Mycoplasma equirhinis. The fifth isolate could not be typed. It did not react with antisera against mycoplasmas found in the respiratory tract of horses and its biochemical characteristics were different from the mycoplasmas described so far. It may represent a new species.
Aviad AD, Houpt JB.Various molecular weight hyaluronic acid (HA) preparations have been injected into joints for the treatment of human and equine osteoarthritis. A therapeutic advantage has been claimed for commercial products with a molecular weight in the range found in normal synovial fluid (SF), compared to lower molecular weight products. But a correlation between molecular weight and efficacy is not borne out by an analysis of the available literature on clinical results. SF viscosity, HA concentration, HA molecular weight and rate of synthesis in joint disease. It is proposed that the beneficial effect o...
van der Kolk JH, Mars MH, van der Gaag I.A 12-year-old Dutch warmblood mare was examined because it had suffered colic intermittently for a few years and had lost weight in the previous two months. Palpation per rectum revealed a large firm mass in the left sublumbar region; the mass was classified post mortem as an adrenocortical carcinoma. The basal plasma cortisol concentration (at 10.00) of the mare was 94 nmol/litre, within the normal range. As in another case of adrenocortical neoplasm, a functional tumour could not be demonstrated. Only one of the 21 horses with a neoplasm of the pituitary-adrenocortical axis examined by the a...
van Gorkom LP, van Wessum R, van den Hoven R.A major part of the residing horses and ponies of a riding school in Noord-Holland became affected by a febrile disorder that included anorexia, depression, conjunctivitis, urticaria, edema of the legs and laborious locomotion. All remaining horses fell ill within one week. Based on the clinical symptoms the disorder was diagnosed as vasculitis. With serology the causative agent of the disorder appeared to be equine arteritis virus.
Cohen ND, Parson EM, Seahorn TL, Carter GK.Medical records of 116 horses admitted to the Texas Veterinary Medical Center between Jan 1, 1984 and Dec 31, 1991 with duodenitis/proximal jejunitis (DPJ) were reviewed. The prevalence of laminitis was 28.4% (33/116; 95% confidence interval: 20.2 to 36.6%). The prevalence of DPJ and DPJ-associated laminitis did not appear to vary significantly by year during the study period. Anamnesis, physical examination, clinicopathologic data, and initial treatment recorded at the time of admission were reviewed to determine risk factors associated with development of laminitis associated with DPJ. A tre...
Kettler MK, Weil MR, Mascotti K, Perryman LE.A group of diseases termed combined immunodeficiency (CID) results in a severe form of immunodeficiency. While CID in humans has two genetics bases, in Arabian it is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. Kettler et al. (1989) determined that uric acid was significantly (p 0.05) between carrier and non-carrier horse's serum levels of hypoxanthine or xanthine. These data, combined with our previous ones suggest that an enzymatic lesion in the purine salvage pathway may occur at the urate oxidase step. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Serum-Hypoxanthin- und -Xanthin-Spiegel in Pferden mit Heterozygotie fÃ...
Edwards GB, Proudman CJ.A retrospective study of 75 cases of pedunculated lipoma obstruction (PLO) of the intestine was conducted. Age, breed and sex distributions were compared to the non-PLO colic population. Horses in the PLO group were significantly older than in the non-PLO colic group (P < 0.001). A significant increase in risk of PLO was associated with geldings (O.R. 2.32) and with ponies (O.R. 3.75). Of the 75 PLO cases analysed, 69 were strangulating, 70 involved small intestine and 5 involved small colon. Cases of strangulation obstruction tended to have lipomas originating distant to the mesenteric border...
Kemppainen RJ, E Peterson M.Cushing's disease, defined as hyperadrenocorticism resulting from excessive secretion of pituitary ACTH, occurs spontaneously and quite commonly in dogs and horses. In dogs, as in humans, the disease is usually associated with a small tumor of the pituitary pars distalis. However, the disease may arise occasionally (dogs) or exclusively (horses) from tumors or hyperplasia of the pituitary pars intermedia. In dogs, pars intermedia tumors may arise from one of two proopiomelanocortin-containing cell types that are present in normal tissue.
Gardner DG.Previously published cases of ameloblastoma in the horse are reviewed in detail for their acceptability as examples of that tumor; an additional one is described. So far, this rare equine lesion has been shown to have two histologic patterns. The first consists of islands and sheets of epithelium that exhibit the basal cell characteristics of ameloblastoma; the central cells comprise stellate reticulum. The second exhibits these basal cell features less markedly and the central cells are spindle-shaped and closely packed. The biologic behavior of the equine ameloblastoma is thought to be the s...
Jones DL.Medical records were reviewed for 11 horses with squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx and/or pharynx. The average age at presentation was 15.3 years. No breed or sex predilection was present. At presentation, 6 of 11 horses were dyspneic and 4 horses had inspiratory stridor. Endoscopy was performed in all cases and was more useful in demonstrating a mass in the laryngopharyngeal region than laryngeal or guttural pouch radiography. Surgical excision was attempted in 3 horses and in 1 horse alleviated clinical signs for 4 months. Ten horses were euthanatized and 1 horse died. Results of this st...
Peters SE, Wakefield AE, Whitwell KE, Hopkin JM.Genetically distinct forms of Pneumocystis carinii infect several mammalian hosts. We report the amplification of P. carinii DNA from samples of two infected thoroughbred foal lungs by using primers designed from the sequence of a P. carinii mitochondrial rRNA gene; these primers also prime the amplification of P. carinii DNA from other hosts. The nucleotide sequence of part of the mitochondrial rRNA gene amplified from P. carinii infecting one of the foals was determined and found to be distinct from that of published rat-, rabbit-, ferret-, and human-derived P. carinii sequences.
Epstein V, Hodge D.Multiple cutaneous lymphosarcomas were diagnosed in an 8-year-old Thoroughbred stallion presented for evaluation of lumps on its scrotum. Histological examination of skin biopsy samples showed a homogenous pattern of lymphoid tissue suggestive of a T-cell lymphosarcoma. Immuno-histochemical tests showed a positive reaction to Rabbit/Anti-Human T-Cell, CD3 antibodies confirming T-cell lymphosarcoma. The animal was not treated and was subsequently euthanased.
Dixon PM.LARYNGEAL paralysis is a common, usually subclinical
disease in horses (Cole 1946; Gunn 1972). More severely
affected animals, clinically termed roarers, are frequently
alleged to have reduced exercise tolerance (Argyle 1933; Cook
1965). This could most readily be attributed to exercise related
hypoxaemia caused by a reduced airflow and/or airflow
turbulence at the reduced rima glottidis. It could also be
conjectured that a rider would demand less of a horse making
loud and possibly distressing respiratory noises. Although
there has been much recent research into the pathology of
equ...
Takai S, Morozumi Y, Higashiyama S, Tsubaki S.Equine neutrophil function was studied in 24 newborn foals, 10 adult horses, and a foal infected with R. equi by the quantitative nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction test. There was no difference between results in newborn foals and adult horses. A foal naturally infected with R. equi showed normal values of NBT reduction test at birth, and after the initial clinical signs, the spontaneous reduction of NBT by neutrophils was found to be remarkably increased until a week before death
Paquette B.Equine infectious anemia in Canada was reviewed for the period January 1976 to December 1981. The human and ecological factors prevailing in Canada are deemed instrumental with respect to the evolution of the disease. The natural spread of the disease on a large scale has not been influenced by the Federal program. Reactors with signs of the disease are important for it's propagation. The author underlines the necessity of cooperation with private practising veterinarians to control it.
Rodriguez M, Hooghuis H, Castaño M.African horse sickness (AHS) is an infectious, non-contagious, highly fatal viral disease of Equidae, transmitted by arthropod vectors of the genus Culicoides, and endemic in Africa south and east of the Sahara. The disease is caused by a virus of the Reoviridae family, genus Orbivirus, and 9 serotypes have been recognized. Recent outbreaks of AHS in the Iberian peninsula and Northern Africa emphasize the need for accurate diagnosis and rapid implementation of control measures. In this paper, the epizootiological factors, clinical signs and necropsy findings of AHS are discussed, and an update...
Walker JE, Lewis CW, MacLeay JM, Kawcak CE, Wheeler DL.Functional relationships between articular cartilage and underlying subchondral bone have been shown to be associated with the progression of osteoarthritis (OA). However, quantifiable factors substantiating this relationship do not exist. Therefore, the study objective involved quantifying subchondral bone mineral density (BMD) of the equine metacarpophalangeal (MCP) and stifle joints as a step in determining if regional subchondral BMD may be associated with OA changes. BMD was bilaterally quantified using dual energy xray absorptiometry (DEXA) for four subchondral regions: palmer and dorsal...
Arden WA, Slocombe RF, Stick JA, Parks AH.Morphologic changes in equine jejunal segments subjected to 1 hour of ischemia and 1 hour of reperfusion, and protective effects of systemic administration of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO; 1 g/kg of body weight) were investigated in 18 ponies, using light microscopy and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Ponies were allotted to 4 groups: group 1--control (n = 3); group 2--DMSO (n = 3); group 3--ischemia (n = 6); and group 4--ischemia and DMSO (n = 6). In each pony, 2 jejunal sections were evaluated. The first section was obtained prior to induction of ischemia, and the second was obtai...
Roy MF, Lavoie JP, Deschamps I, Laverty S.Primary splenic disease in the horse is rarely recognised as a
clinical entity. A few cases of splenic abscesses (Swan 1968),
splenic haematoma (Spier et al. 1986; McGorum et al. 1996),
and splenic rupture (Finocchio 1971; Steiner 1981; Dyke and
Friend 1988) have been reported. One case of primary
splenomegaly associated with recurrent colic has been
described in the veterinary literature and a splenectomy was
performed which corrected the problem (Varra and Nelson
1976). We are aware of only one report of splenomegaly
associated with splenic infarction in horses (Scott et al. 1978);
...
Thurman JD, Johnson BJ, Lichtenfels JR.Arteriosclerosis caused by Dirofilaria immitis adult parasites was diagnosed in a 20-month-old Quarter horse stallion that died from cantharidin toxicosis. Microscopically, the pulmonary vascular changes were typical of those described as "proliferative endarteritis" in D immitis-infected dogs.